Sleeping on the couch
by Morrigan Saint
Summary: A 400 year old vampire takes pity on a girl who has lost her family and takes her in... But, after a while, he realizes he just might have taken on a little to much for him to handle. Read & Review!
1. Chapter 1

AU: Hi guys! Now that I'm (almost) finished with Aleandra, I decided to start a new fic. This is actually based on a dream I had… I know, it's kinda weird, but I thought it was good enough for a fic. This is going to be totally different from Aleandra, but well, I might drop some clues to what she is doing right now…

Enjoy the reading! (And don't forget to review… Blue button, people, blue button!)

_I wonder, vampire_

_How long the hunger can be controlled_

_By your fading, tormented soul?_

Prologue

"What were you thinking?!"

"Shhh!" I threw a look at the girl curled up on the sofa. "You'll wake her up." He snorted.

"Why should I care? I practically live here. It's not my problem if she wakes up." I rolled my eyes.

"You're acting like a three year old. Please, just be a little quiet." He sighed and sat down on a chair with three and a half leg.

"Jesus, Mischa. What were you thinking?" I shrugged.

"I… I don't know." He shook his head.

"Okay. Just tell me what happened. From the start."

So I told him.

About the old vampire, who'd gone mad. How I'd gotten a call from someone, asking me to take care of the problem.

And how it had been much too late for the family when I got there.

"I swear, Caleb, I've never seen so much blood in my whole life. And, keeping in mind I'm a vampire, that actually means something. It was just everywhere. Walls, floor. They barely looked like humans anymore." Caleb made a face.

"I can't say I'm surprised. That guy wasn't very nice before he went mad, so I can only imagine how he's now…"

"He was still… feeding… on one of them when I got there." Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"May I guess that's the reason Sleeping Beauty is lying on your couch and not in his stomach?"

"Yes. I shot him as soon as I saw him, and that's, well …"

"Let me make another guess. She saw them?" I sighed and rubbed my forehead. I couldn't get a headache anymore, but sometimes I felt like my head didn't really care about that.

"Yes." I shivered slightly. "Caleb, she didn't react. She just stood there. Just a girl, for Christ's sake, dressed in a pyjama. Her hair was still untidy." I was strongly aware of her presence, just a couple of meters away. "I could see it. One minute she was standing there, a teenage girl, trying to understand what had happened. And the next she was gone. Just… Empty." I met his gaze.

"I couldn't just leave her." Caleb snorted again, but I could see he understood perfectly well why I had done it. I was pretty sure he would have done the same thing.

"And you are sure you didn't just se a pretty girl and decided it would be nice to have her living with you?"

"Caleb. Don't go there. Just tell me what to do."

"You're over four hundred years old. It's about time you learn to make your own decisions." I looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Fine!" He looked annoyed. "I'll check if I can find a place for her to stay. You'll just have to deal with her until then."

"I owe you one."

"No, you owe me more than you'll ever be able to pay back."

"True." He laughed.

"Well, I guess admitting it is a good start." Caleb stood up. "I'll leave you and your new roommate alone for now. See ya." He walked out of the apartment. It was true; he practically lived here. We were long past all kind of pretended courtesy.

Dear God. What was I going to do now?


	2. Chapter 2

Hi again

Hi again! Well, since I've now finished my story, Aleandra, I'm really depressed. So I thought I'd try to do something productive instead of just moping, and well, here's the result!

Ps. Watch out, I just might drop some clues to what she's doing now… (Okay, I admit it, I have a hard time letting go, but all my stories kinda take place in the same fictional universe)

Chapter 1

"Nothing? As in nothing nothing?"

"Mischa, have I ever lied to you?"

"Yes." A short silence, then he laughed.

"Okay. But not this time. I haven't got anything for you. Come on, I'll tell you when I get something. Go take care of your new room mate instead." I bit my tongue.

"How many people has he told?"

"Well, judging by the number of vamps I've heard it from this morning, I bet that every vamp in the northern hemisphere knows." I cursed under my breath.

"Tell him I'll kill him."

"I will." He hang up. I stood there completely still for a couple of seconds, then threw the phone into the wall. It exploded and sent pieces of metal and plastic everywhere. Then I realised what I had done. I spun around.

Damn it.

She was awake.

She stood in the doorway, the dark hair messy and eyes fixed on me. Empty. She didn't even look scared, though I was sure she could see my fangs and my black eyes from where she stood. Was she really that traumatized? She should be screaming in shock by now, instead of just staring.

Either she was so deeply scarred by what she had seen that she would never recover, or she had already gotten so far in the regeneration process that she realised I was not the vampire who had killed her family.

"Hi" I said, careful not to raise my voice. She didn't answer.

"What's your name?" Still nothing. I took a step towards her, trying not to scare her. She didn't move. I didn't like this. It didn't seem like she even reacted. I doubted she was aware of my presence.

"I am Mischa. This is my apartment. Are you hungry?" Nothing. I decided to try to give her some food, anyway; I didn't want her to starve to death.

"I will put some food on the table, and you can eat when you feel like it. I have to go out for a little while. Okay?" She just stood there. I could have made her face me, but somehow, it didn't really feel like the right thing to do.

"Good bye then." I put the bread on a plate, placed it in the middle of the small table and left.

--

"_Why_ did you tell every undead creature on earth about her?" I had to restrain myself from strangling him. Caleb didn't look nervous. He should I was a lot stronger then him, and he knew it. Instead, he just laughed.

"Are we a little sensitive about this?" This just made me angrier. He obviously noticed.

"Relax, Mischa. I didn't tell everyone about it. I just told Vlad." I wrinkled my nose in disgust. I hated that guy. He was ridiculous, melodramatic chatterbox, who liked to pretend he was a distant relative of some fictional vampire the humans had made up. He wasn't. He was less than a hundred years old, a pimp born in the beginning of the 20th century and turned when he was 25.

"That's like telling everyone."

"Can't object to that." I had started to calm down. It wasn't that big of a deal, really. It wasn't like I was going to lose my job, or anything.

"Do you have anything for me?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think I've got anything for you if Miro haven't?" He had a point. I didn't even have to ask how he knew Miro hadn't given me an assignment.

"Do you have any idea why Miro didn't have anything for me right now?" What mattered was if there was no assignments, or of there was no assignments for _me_.

"It's kind of complicated, but… After what I've heard, they are having some kind of trouble in the US, so all of the crazy vampires are there for the fight."

"Oh." That explained it. "How bad is it, on a scale from 1 to 10?" Caleb made a face.

"9.5, if my friend was right." My mouth fell open.

"Oh. Well, that explains it." That big a fight hadn't occurred since the 17th century.

"Yeah, people are being careful right now. They don't want to miss the big show."

"What is it about, anyway?"

"It started as an argument about territory, but then it got worse."

"Anyone we know got hurt?" Now he smiled half a smile. Sarcastic.

"Well… Rumour says your favourite girl is there." I frowned.

"I don't understand why I can't take her out. She's out of her mind. You know she is." Caleb rolled his eyes.

"We've been through this before. You can't take her out, because she is a special case. Besides, you'd just get yourself killed. If not by her, then you would get killed by her partner. He's one of the Old Ones. You could never win against him. Or against her, for that matter." Caleb leaned back in his chair. "Besides, she's never gotten discovered. Her guy looks out for her. She's only killed three humans, and judging by what I've heard, they deserved it." I pouted.

"Mischa, you look like a dog when you do that."

"I know."

"Stop it, then." I shrugged.

"Sure." Silence. I was a little pissed at the ones in charge for not letting me deal with the girl. She had been a vamp for little over a year now, and to me, it didn't matter if she was a "special case" or not. She was insane.

It wasn't out of compassion I hunted vamps gone mad. It was all for the thrill.

What did I care if some human got killed? Humans died. Every day. I did the job for the thrill, the excitement. For the fight. Fighting other vamps was dangerous, and it wasn't without complications even if you won, either. But fighting, and killing, vamps who had gone mad… No one missed them. No one cared. They were relieved when someone got the job done, and I didn't get bored.

Everyone was happy.

"Well, I have to go."

"Why?" I didn't want to return to my apartment just yet. That human… She scared me, for some reason.

"Things to do, people to kill…" Caleb smiled, showing his fangs, and left. I sighed.

I guessed I had to see if she had moved at all since I left.

(He, he. People, You don't have to be Einstein to figure out who I am talking about.

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	3. Chapter 3

Guys, I am SO SORRY

Guys, I am SO SORRY! My mom made me go to Austria and go skiing. I hate skiing. And then, when I got home, of course, my computer broke down… I don't know why God hate me. I must have killed Gandhi in my last life, or something.

Chapter 2

She hadn't moved.

She was sitting on the floor, on the exact spot where I had left her. The head tilted back, tears flowing from her eyes. She didn't make a sound.

She made a very beautiful picture, sitting there on the floor. Crying. It almost broke my heart, which surprised me. I had thought I'd lost that one decades ago.

Apparently not.

I slowly walked towards her, trying not to be noticed. I didn't think she knew I was there. She most definitely hadn't shown any emotions, any sadness, when I had been there.

"Hi" I said softly. Her eyes flew open. The tears immediately stopped flowing and she jerked away from me. Scared by the sharp canines, visible now that I was talking.

"Can you please tell me your name?" She didn't answer. Just kept staring at me. I sighed, and sat down in front of her.

"Do you know who I am?" She nodded, slowly. Progress! I almost smiled, then realized how it would look to her and restrained myself.

"I'm a vampire. My name is Mischa." I had already told her that, but I felt it couldn't hurt to say it again, just in case. "I'm not like the one who killed your family. Okay? I am not going to hurt you. I promise." She wasn't scared of me, I suddenly realized. On her guard, sure. She was careful. But the fear was gone.

"Can you tell me what your name is?" She hesitated. Then she opened her mouth.

"Kaia." It was a unusual name. It suited her.

"Kaia, you should eat something. Have you even touched the food I left you?" She didn't respond. I shrugged, mentally. Well, I guessed it wasn't so bad for a first conversation. She was only a human. She was remarkably strong, for a young girl who had just lost her whole family.

"Could you at least consider touching the food in the kitchen?" I stood up, looking down at her. The hair still messy, the dark eyelashes still wet. She had something on her throat, I noticed. I hadn't seen it before.

It was a drop of blood.

Oh, shit. It was blood. Probably her familys blood.

Crap.

I practically ran into my bedroom, trying to feel annoyed or disturbed or anything, anything was better than this. The feeling of pity, this pain… I could feel her pain, as clearly as had it been my own. I could feel it.

It was going to haunt me, the image of her sitting there, peacefully, crying over the things she had lost.


	4. Chapter 4

So, here's the plan: I'll try to make it up to you by writing REALLY fast

So, here's the plan: I'll try to make it up to you by writing REALLY fast. Come on, you've gotta give me some cred for updating two days in a row…

Chapter 3

I could not believe I was doing this.

It hadn't been necessary, before. I fed from the animals in the forest, or once in a while, some poor human who had gotten in my way. I was trying to fees only from criminals, of course, but I had to admit I sometimes killed an innocent being.

I liked it that way. Well, not the part of me killing innocent humans. It wasn't like I felt bad about it… But it always caused such a ruckus.

But I like the part about the feeding. Quick and easy.

And now I had to go _shopping_.

Why didn't I just kill her?

I knew, of course, why I didn't just kill her and move on with my life. Or, well…Whatever you called it. Existence, maybe. I couldn't. I might have been able before… Before I had seen her. Before I had seen her crying.

So now I was basically screwed.

I was stuck.

I had to take care of her now. Kaia… It really was a very beautiful name. I was not vain, but I had always been very fond of my own name. Mischa. It was unusual, unusual but not artificial. Kaia, I had to admit, was even better. It suited her perfectly. It seemed to describe the thick, dark hair, the intense dark gaze.

I picked up a bottle of milk and dropped it in the basket. Cursed. I hated shopping. Especially shopping for food. How should I know what she liked to eat? I took a loaf of bread, too, and some salmon. Either she ate it, I decided, or she'd have to buy her own food. It wasn't exactly my problem.

It wasn't just the fact that I had to go shopping, I had to admit to myself. It was also that I hadn't killed anything for a week. They didn't have anything for me. All the usual, mad, bloodthirsty vampires was restraining themselves. They were curious about the outcome of the Big Event. And if they were killed now, they wouldn't get to know the result.

Did they really have to fight that war _now_? Couldn't it wait? Someone was going to win, sooner or later. It was just a matter of time.

I was bored. Bored and frustrated.

I wanted to kill something.

The girl in the register smiled at me and tried to make small talk. I sighed. I was good looking, by her standards. Of course she would try to flirt with me.

They were so predictable, these humans.

Did I need a bag? I hadn't bought much.

Whatever. It couldn't hurt.

I carried the plastic bag the five blocks back to my apartment and dumped them on the floor when I got there. I was annoyed. I wanted to rest.

Before I went to bed, I checked on Kaia.

She was asleep, lying on top of the bed instead of in it. The hair covering half her face. Tears had dried on her cheeks, and she was curled into a small ball, her hands clenched into hard fists even in her sleep.

She could eat when she woke up. I assumed she knew how to cook.

(Read & Review!

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	5. Chapter 5

Hi, guys

Chapter 4

I'd heard her cry in the middle of the night.

It had made me jump. I could hear it through the wall. The quiet sobs. She wasn't loud; it almost seemed like she didn't want me to hear.

I wanted to comfort her. It shocked me, how much I wanted to go in to her room and hold her. It wasn't because of any sick fetish, or anything. I just felt so sorry for her.

I didn't even know why.

Now she was sitting on the other side of the table, eating. She wasn't talking. She hadn't said a word since she told me her name.

Kaia.

The hair unkempt, hiding most of her face. I could almost feel her gaze, though. I knew she was watching me. Sadly, I suspected I knew why, too. She thought I was going to be insane and kill her. It didn't even scare her. She just wanted to know when it was going to happen.

"Kaia?" She didn't flinch. Strange. She didn't react like humans normally did.

"Kaia, I need to talk to you." I knew she was listening now.

"I am going to go out for a while. Okay?" I wanted to be sure she understood. "I don't know how long I'll be gone. I do not want you to leave the house. Do you understand?" She nodded. Slowly.

"There's food in the fridge." I stood up, uneasy. I didn't know why, but I was worried. She wasn't acting normal. Well, Kaia never acted normal. But there was something about her… something almost happy. It made me worried.

I was sick. Honestly.

I left the apartment and went out.

Miro had finally found a job for me.

--

I stared at her.

It was a beautiful creature. Eyes the colour of dark sapphires, the red curls wild. She was tall, very thin, wearing black clothes that made her skin seem even whiter.

She was utterly insane.

Blood was dripping from the corners of the mouth and splattered across her face and shirt. The human, who'd had his throat ripped out, was dead. A small mercy.

The vampire turned to me.

She didn't look worried. On the contrary, she was laughing. The eyes sparkling.

"What do you want? It's all yours, honey, if you want it…" She spoke with an accent. Young. After a couple of centuries even the thickest dialect had disappeared.

It was a shame, really. She could have been powerful.

But killing rampages couldn't tolerated if they weren't concealed. If our existence was revealed…

I aimed the gun. She didn't seem frightened or even angry. She just kept on laughing.

I shot.

She was thrown back, the force of the bullet too much for her to handle. I stepped up to her.

Time for the messy part.

How I loved it.

--

I felt so much better now.

The adrenaline fresh in my body, the blood roaring through my veins. It felt so good. The kick I got from killing… Nothing was better. Not sex, not feeding. Nothing.

Alive.

I was alive.

I ran up the stairs, not even noticing the smell. I should have. I was careless, though, still high from killing the vamp.

I should have noticed.

Threw the door open, smiling.

By then, the smell was to strong not to notice. Even a human would have felt it.

Blood.

A lot of blood.

I froze. Suddenly, all my senses seemed heightened, more than usual. Blood. Blood, everywhere. Someone breathing, but oh, so much slower, so much weaker than usual.

Kaia.

I ran to the bathroom, saw the blood, everywhere, blood, the open wrists where still more blood where flowing out with every heartbeat, the face, so pale, so pale, the eyes open, not seeing, the beautiful, dark eyes like glass.

And yet… yet she was alive.

But not for much longer.

(He he he… Cliffhanger, cliffhanger, cliffhanger. I know, I'm evil. But you know, the more you review, the faster I'll update.

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	6. Chapter 6

Hi again, guys

Hi again, guys! Since so many of you actually reviewed (you know who you are, and: I LOVE YOU!) I won't keep you waiting anymore.

Chapter 5

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Pale.

She was very pale, the black eyelashes a shocking contrast to the skin. Her lips were almost blue. It was hard to tell, were her skin ended and the sheet started.

Everything was white. That special shade of white that says Hospital. That says Sickness and Death. The kind of clean, pure white that extinguish all colours and suffocates all sound.

She was very pale, but she was alive. It had been hard. So very hard. My self-control had been pushed to it's limit. The smell, the colour, had almost overwhelmed me. I'd made it, though. She was alive.

I had carried her to the hospital, feeling her fade away more for every minute that passed. Seen her being carried away by a doctor. Helpless. I had been completely helpless.

She couldn't die. She couldn't. I didn't even know why I cared, but I wouldn't let her die.

It wasn't until afterwards, when they told me she was going to live, that I realized I could have changed her.

Until then the thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

I knew why.

If I had turned her, she would be dead by now. If she became what I was… She would kill herself. Keep on trying until she succeeded. Now, at least, there was a chance she'd survive.

But still.

It had been so close.

They had given her a blood transfusion and told me to just let her sleep. Ugly, black stitches now adorned her wrists. She'd have scars. Thick, white scars for the rest of her life. Telling everyone about what she had done to herself, long after the tears had dried and the wounds healed.

She was sleeping now, unaware of the pain and the troubles that awaited her when she woke up. Not knowing, not caring. Maybe she was dreaming.

About her family?

Maybe.

A nurse knocked on the door and came in. Checked on Kaia. She smiled at me, noticing my anxiety.

"She is going to be okay." I nodded.

"I know." Her smile grew broader.

"Are you her boyfriend?" I shook my head.

"No. I'm more like her… Caretaker, I guess you could say." She frowned a little.

"No offence, but you don't look old enough to be her caretaker." I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just really well preserved." She laughed, her smile growing flirtatious.

"Hey, do you want to go out some time? Have a drink, or something?" Again, I shook my head, trying to look sorry.

"No, I'm gay." She apparently bought my lie, since she blushed and left the room.

"Mischa?" My heart seemed to stop beating. I turned around. Slowly. Her voice was a little hoarse, almost a whisper.

She was still asleep.

Kaia sighed and turned over. I felt a little flutter in my stomach.

Crap.

Well, at least now I had definite proof I wasn't gay.

(Like it? Review, please! :P

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	7. Chapter 7

Hi again

Hi again! Since a lot of you commented and said Muhahahaha, well, I'm kinda beginning to suspect that you don't really like Mischa. Well, it's okay. He is a bloodthirsty vampire, after all, albeit a hot one.

Chapter 6

She was eating breakfast in the kitchen. I could hear her; she was eating salmon. For breakfast.

Well, I didn't judge her. I was a vampire, so I didn't really think I had a right to comment on other peoples eating habits. He who is without sin, and all that.

I could smell her, too. Salmon and healing wounds and virus (she'd caught a cold in the hospital) and something I couldn't really define, that special smell I had come to think of as Kaia.

These last few days I had become very sensitive to that smell.

My room was dark. It wasn't like the sun killed me, but we had very sensitive eyes, we vampires. I didn't like the sun. It shone with too strong a light. The moon, on the other hand… Though one had to watch out for werewolves.

No, that wasn't a joke.

I was resting. It hade made me very tired, having to deal with a) a mad vamp and b) a suicide attempt. I deserved some rest.

And, I admitted to myself, I was avoiding Kaia.

The situation could _not_ be more troublesome. I had taken in an orphan, a human, on a whim. Fine. People had thought I was a little strange, but then, they already did. Killing mad vamps for a living didn't exactly buy you popularity, even though it brought a lot of satisfaction. People thinking me strange I could handle.

But this…

This was so much worse.

I had heard of, and met, vampires living together. Vampires very often believed strongly in monogamy. Once they'd found a partner, that was it. There was even a special word for it. Lifemate.

But a vampire and a human, that was unheard of. It wasn't hidden, there wasn't a taboo, but it simply didn't work. Vampires were most of the time animals. Civilized animals, yes, but animals. Blood was our number one priority. Then came self preservation. Then, if that specific vampire had found a lifemate, sex.

Love, affection, was not something most vampires sought.

That was why I could not understand why this was happening.

I meant, she wasn't even that pretty. I had met vampires so incredibly beautiful it almost hurt to look at them. It was a weapon of ours, beauty. Like poisonous flowers.

Kaia looked like an ordinary human. I guessed she was attractive, by human standards. But to me, to us, she was almost plain. Soft, dark hair, black lashes, dark eyebrows. Athletic body.

Why, then?

I didn't know, but I knew this was a big, big problem. Huge. A vampire in love with a human… a human who hated our kind more than anything, nonetheless.

I was done with.

And, still, I couldn't stop my heart from beating faster when I smelled her. I couldn't stop myself from watching her sleep.

She had stopped eating, I noticed.

She stood up and left the kitchen. The quiet steps came closer. Stopped outside my door.

I felt my body stiffen.

What did she want? She didn't even speak, so I couldn't imagine what reason she could have to enter my room.

The door opened.

She was still pale from the blood loss, even though she now had a tiny bit of colour on her cheeks.

"Thank you." Almost, almost a whisper. She closed the door again and went to her room.

I closed my eyes and tried to get the image of her out of my head.

(Poor thing… I almost feel sorry for him.

Review, guys! :D

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	8. Chapter 8

OMG

OMG! Do you guys even KNOW how much I've been _dying_ to write this chapter?! Hehehehehehe… happy

Well then, let's get started.

Chapter 7

I needed to do something.

I didn't know what. It didn't really matter, actually. But I desperately needed to get out of here. Now. I couldn't stand being in here for another minute. Her smell, everywhere, her soft breathing as she slept, her hair, her eyes, her dreams, every sound that came out of her mouth and every tear that ran down her cheek, her smooth skin, the muscles underneath the skin, the tiny hairs on her arms, the ugly scars on her wrists…

I needed to get out of here, because, oh God, I loved all of her, and I didn't know what to do. I was lost.

I hated being lost.

I had always been the one in charge. A loner. I decided what was done and when it was done. I hunted vampires for a living! There wasn't much money in it, of course, just the usual sum I always got after I'd killed one of them from the council. It was enough to buy me close and pay the rent. But it worked, and the satisfaction I got from getting rid of them…

But now, suddenly, I wasn't in charge.

I was getting addicted to her smell, to her voice. She rarely spoke, though she actually did speak to me sometimes, nowadays. Usually just to remind me to buy food or something.

For these past three days I had been laying in my bed listening to her heartbeat.

I was going crazy.

I had to get out of here. I _needed_ to get out of here.

I sat up, slowly, stood up, careful. I hadn't used my muscles much for three days, and I didn't want to fall over, or anything.

Sure, I was a vampire, but I had started to feel like a human again.

It scared the crap out of me.

As I left the apartment, almost running, I could hear a door opening. Kaia, probably, wondering why I was running like a maniac when I hadn't been outside my room for seventy two hours.

--

Dark.

It was dark, outside.

It suited my mood perfectly.

The stars were twinkling in the sky. I felt like they were mocking me. Look at him, the poor thing. He really thought he was above them, didn't he? Well, ha, ha, ha. Look at him now. Pathetic.

I really was crazy if I thought the stars were conspiring against me.

But they did look extremely mischievous.

Something caught my attention, and I turned my head to the left.

A bookstore. Open. Why was there a bookstore open at two p.m.?

I decided to go look at it. It wasn't like I had anything better to do.

A bell tinkled when I entered the store, and a young man in his mid twenties looked up.

"Hello!" He said brightly. By looking at him you would've thought it was early afternoon. He was good looking, with fair hair and brown eyes. I didn't like him. He was too cheerful. And much too good looking.

"Hi" I answered, walking in to one of the isles just to avoid further talking. Science fiction & fantasy, I saw, and couldn't help but to shrug. Well, at lest I'd picked the right isle. This was where I belonged, anyway.

Then it hit me.

I had been really, really stupid.

I should buy Kaia a book.

It wasn't like that would solve the problem. But I had taken her in, and I didn't even own a TV. What was she doing, all days? Crying? At least if I bought her a book she would have something to do.

It may not have been a gift to show my love, but it was the best I could do.

Which one should I buy?

I searched for a title that sounded nice. I was no good at this. I didn't read much, in fact, hadn't read for a couple of hundred years. No, wait, I read Harry Potter. Crap. I meant, Jeez, he should really get over himself.

No, I would _definitely_ not buy her that one.

_The lion, the witch and the wardrobe_? Well, the title sounded cheerful. Pretty cover, too. And it wasn't very thick.

Yeah, that one I'd buy.

I picked it up and went to the cash register. The young man smiled when he saw my choice.

"Classic. My little sister loved it. I used to read to her every night, you know." I was seriously tempted to hiss "No, I DON'T!", but I figured it'd just make things harder.

It wasn't like Kaia would ever meet him, anyway.

"Here you go. Have a nice day!" He really was an idiot. It was pitch dark outside.

I left the store and headed home.

--

She was asleep, when I came home.

Kaia had fallen asleep on the worn out couch, and she was curled up in a little ball. For the first time, I noticed, there wasn't a smell of tears from her face.

I smiled to myself.

Beautiful. She was so beautiful.

I lay the book on the table beside her and turned around, but then changed my mind. I faced her again, bent down. Slowly, carefully, stroke the hair out of her face. Her faces only inches away from my own.

I let my own lips touch hers.

She didn't wake up. The kiss only lasted for a couple of seconds.

To me, it seemed like an eternity.

(Please, tell me what you think! I was really LONGING to write this chapter.

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	9. Chapter 9

Guys, I'm sorry it took me some time to update, but my email is giving me a hard time

Guys, I'm sorry it took me some time to update, but my email is giving me a hard time. It seems that I can't receive emails from anymore, so I have to check everything manually.

Thank you to all of you who've reviewed! It's such a nice thing to log in and realize people actually like what I write.

Okay, now I'll stop being sentimental and get on with it :)

Chapter 8

_Darkness, blood, everywhere._

_Their faces. Barely faces anymore. Empty eyes, staring into the nothingness. Terrified. They had been terrified. I could tell. The faces I knew so well… Nothing more then flesh and blood and skin. _

_They were dead._

_Never, ever coming back. Never laughing. Never crying._

_The body of the unknown carelessly thrown over theirs. Covered in blood. I could tell where he had bled… His blood seemed darker in the colour. Deeper. A chunk of meat was laying on the floor beside him._

_His heart. No longer beating._

_He was dead, as well. _

_And his killer was standing in the blood. His fangs showing. The dark, straight hair messy. His eyes were glittering, of rage, of lust, of strength and desire. He was beautiful, in a strange, black way. He scared me. More then the unknown killer did. I knew, somehow, that it was the unknown who'd killed them. My family, my life. I was empty. I was an empty shell. No more. Falling, falling into the nothing they had been sent into._

_Trying to follow them._

_But he caught me. He caught me._

_And his eyes, no longer full of pleasure, staring into my own, sorrow, pain. For my sake._

_I knew he wouldn't kill me and I hated him for it._

Her breathing was getting faster. I didn't know why, but I could hear her crying silently in her sleep. She hadn't done that for a couple of weeks now, and it worried me that she did.

For the past week, she had seemed…

Happier somehow didn't seem like the right word. But she had started behaving more positive. The look on her face that had scared me, the one who said she was already with her family… It was gone. And since I had bought her new clothes, I had discovered she actually _did_ care about her looks.

As I saw it, that was a good sign.

The nightmares had stopped, to. She hadn't cried in her sleep for almost two weeks, now. I had bought her more books, to, so that she had something to do. I thought she appreciated it. She had smiled – actually smiled – the day before.

But now she was crying, and it worried me. She was having a nightmare.

About what?

The wounds on her wrists had healed, leaving ugly scars. The stitches were gone. It hurt me to look at them… Remembering her lifeless body, her empty eyes. Remembering the blood, smelling it again, the colour.

I was not so sure I would be able to restrain myself if she tried something like that again.

I had killed another vampire a few days ago. This one not mad, but wanting to die. It hadn't brought satisfaction… The feeling in his eyes had been much to similar to the one in Kaia's eyes for me to be comfortable with killing him.

I had done it out of pity.

I hadn't even known I was able to feel pity anymore.

The breathing stopped, suddenly, and I flinched. What was going on?

Oh.

She had woken up.

I relaxed again. I had been frightened. Of course, the chance of her just dying in her sleep was quite small, but stranger things had happened.

After all, I existed.

Kaia stood up, and went out of her room. With growing amazement I heard her steps coming closer until my door opened.

She was wearing the white nightgown I had bought her. It was a little too big, and touched the floor. Her eyes seemed darker then usual, much too prominent in her pale face. Tears on her cheeks.

"Please" she whispered. "Can I sleep in here?" More tears ran down her cheeks as she spike. The pain in her eyes so big, so much, that I was surprised the didn't break. No one could survive a loss that big. No one could survive that kind of sadness.

And yet, she did.

"Yes, you can." My voice soft, low. I didn't want to make her more scared then she already was.

Kaia came up to the bed and silently climbed into it. She was shaking, I realized. Shaking and crying.

What had she dreamt about?

I could only guess.

I slowly, carefully slid my arm around her waist. There was nothing sexual about it. She needed to be held, and I was the only one who could hold her right then. I was the only one who could offer her comfort. She didn't seem to mind, but she curled up and started crying even harder. I just held her. Offering her myself, offering her my comfort, my support. And when she finally fell asleep, she was calm. She wasn't crying anymore.

We spent the night like that. I wasn't touching her in any inappropriate way, just holding her. So that every time she woke up, she would know I was there.

(One more thing! I removed the reference to the Big One and all that. The reference to Aleandra is still there, but I figured it would be to complicated with the Big One. Okay?

Review please!

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	10. Chapter 10

We are getting closer to the end of the story… sighs Ah well, I guess it could be worse

We are getting closer to the end of the story… sighs Ah well, I guess it could be worse. At least I have all you wonderful reviewers (hint, hint).

Chapter 9

"Why didn't you just kill me?" She looked serious. Sitting in a chair, the long, pale legs stretched out in front of her, the dark, curly hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. The eyes mesmerizing.

This was the first time we talked. Really talked.

I didn't really know how to act.

"I… I don't know." She nodded, slowly. Like she already knew that, like it wasn't a surprise to her.

"I thought so. You killed him, didn't you? The one who slaughtered my family?"

"Yes. It is what I do."

"I know." Now _I_ was surprised. She saw it, and smiled a little smile that wasn't really a smile.

"I overheard you talking to your… friend." Tiny wrinkles appeared between her eyebrows. "He doesn't like me, does he?" She was speaking slowly, her voice a little hoarse. Like she had half forgotten how to do it. Talking, that was.

"He isn't very fond of humans."

"Neither are you." I flinched a little. It was true. Or, had been true, before.

How much had she seen, while I thought she was too wrapped up in her own sorrow to notice anything at all? How much did she know that wasn't meant for her ears?

"It is true." I felt awkward. Kaia smiled again, for real, this time. The grief was still here – probably always would be – but this time, there was happiness, to.

And a little mockery.

I could handle that.

"I know. I want to thank you, for taking care of me, all this time." A lock of hair had come loose from the ponytail and now touched her cheek. I wanted to put it back in the ponytail, wanted to gently stroke it back from her face, but I didn't dare to. She was someone else, now. Still Kaia, sure, but suddenly, she was an intelligent being. No longer just a scared little human.

That scared me.

I was pretty sure she was a lot smarter then I was. Vampire or not, she was still capable of fooling me. And I could see something, deep, deep in her eyes… Strength. She would survive, for the mere reason that she had tried to kill herself and it hadn't worked out. Now she had tried to walk down that path and decided not to.

She had chosen it. Not I. And all along, I had thought I had been the one to save her, when, in fact, it had been her choice.

I was a little embarrassed, since she probably knew what I had been thinking.

"It is nothing to be thankful for."

"Don't even try it." She raised an eyebrow. "You could have killed me – fed on me – and you didn't. For that, I thank you. For taking care of me, all this time, for letting me live here, I thank you." She was very formal. I sensed there was something else she wanted to say… Something just beneath the surface. We were talking, yes, but this was not what she wanted to talk about.

"What is it you really want to say, Kaia?" I asked, softly. She froze. This was, after all, still Kaia. It didn't matter if we had spoken before or not. I knew her. No matter how intelligent she had proven to be, this was still the girl I had held in my arms for the whole night. Comforting. It was morning, now, the sun making her hair shine and my eyes burn, but she was still the same girl.

I could see it in her eyes, smell her. It was Kaia, and I loved her.

"I don't want to leave" she whispered, and I understood.

She thought I was going to kick her out.

She thought I was going to kick her out, now that she had healed. That she would loose the few things she had gained.

Did she really think that? About me?

It was such a human thing to do. Fear. Vampires did fear, yes, but not in the same way humans did. We feared in a distant sort of way, not the overwhelming, suffocating way humans did. They felt so much more then we did. Hate, passion, pain, courage.

Love.

I loved Kaia, but it was a different kind of love. Something between a vampire and a human emotion. A burning, obsessive feeling. I wanted to own her. But, I wanted her to be happy, as well. The humans had a saying about that… Something about letting things go, because if they were yours, they would come back to you.

I could never do that.

I wouldn't be able to. My love was a selfish one. No matter the circumstances, I was, in the end, a vampire.

"Kaia. You can stay. It's okay." She turned away. She wasn't crying, but she didn't want me to see her face.

"Thank you."

"You have thanked me enough, Kaia" I tried to joke. She half-laughed, still a bit upset.

"I… I don't…" Again, she faced me. Her lower lip trembling slightly.

I couldn't resist it anymore.

I pulled the elastic out of her hair, watching it fall over her shoulders, and kissed her.

At first, she didn't react, just sat there. But then, slowly, she started to kiss me back, her soft lips moving against mine.

And, finally, I knew. I knew what was going to happen. It had been decided all along, by someone else, just waiting for me, for us, to realize it.

That night, she came to my bed again. And this time, it wasn't for comfort. When she did, when we, together, peaked, I bit her. And she didn't resist. She didn't fear me.

(Only one chapter left!! :'( sobs Ah, well, I have another story going, so when I've finished this one, I'll publish it. Please please please _please_ read it? :P

And don't forget to review!

Remember: blue button.

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	11. Chapter 11

Last chapter

Last chapter!! sobs Ah, well, it's been really, really nice knowing you all. I've really enjoyed writing this, and I thank all of you for reading this. Hopefully, you'll read some of my other stories… (hint, hint) but hey, no pressure!

(If you don' I'll send my specially trained ninja squirrels at you! Beware of the rage of the ninja squirrels!)

Chapter 10 – Epilogue

"Haven't seen you around for a while" Vlad laughed, his black eyes laughing scornfully at me. I didn't care, that much; all I felt was a slight tint of disgust. He was attractive, to humans, sure. We all were. But he had something… _slimy_ about him that even humans noticed. A remnant from his time as a London pimp, perhaps.

"I've been busy." I sat down beside Caleb who couldn't resist smiling. He knew I despised Vlad. That was part of the reason why he hang out with him.

"So I've heard" Vlad breathed, eyes widened in fake excitement. "Busy with that little human, ey? So, you've turned her yet? Or just killed her?" He laughed. "Surely, you must have killed her. I've tried it out sometimes. They never last, humans." I raised an eyebrow.

"You disgust me" I said coldly. He sipped what appeared to be red wine. O, probably. The cheapest kind. Vlad didn't like animal blood. It didn't make him feel as big and powerful as human blood did.

He probably needed the confirmation. It wasn't like he actually _was_ big and powerful, after all.

"Sure I do. So, what was it? Kill or transformation?" Caleb, who hadn't spoken yet, now raised his voice.

"I'm actually curious, too. You look different, Mischa." He'd seen it, of course. Older, stronger vampires normally did. The change that appeared was visible, though faint.

"I've taken a lifemate."

"Oh." Caleb leaned back. He understood, apparently. He had known from the moment I mentioned the word Lifemate.

It was curious, that he knew me so well.

"Reeeally?" It was really far below a vampires dignity to be such a gossip.

But then, I had never been that sure Vlad was a vampire. My theory was something in the line of mutant or creature of the black lagoon.

"Yes. That little human you were talking about." I had the pleasure to see his jaw drop.

"So you did turn her?" I shook my head. I could see how he was struggling to understand what was going on.

He probably never would. He was much, much too stupid for that.

I would never turn Kaia.

She wouldn't survive it. Never. I wouldn't turn her, because it would kill her.

"Congrats, mate. Cheers!" I could see the faintest trace of sorrow in Caleb's eyes as he raised his glass. He knew. He had always been very intuitive.

I would live with Kaia. I would live with her, and when she died, I would follow her.

After all, four hundred years seemed more than enough.

"Well then, I guess it's time for me to get out of here. The night is young." Vlad grinned, his ugly, yellow fangs showing. Disappeared through the door. Caleb silently sipped his AB- and then sighed.

"Mate, I knew it was a bad idea from the start." I grinned.

"Depends on your point of view."

"Ah, well, there'll be at least eighty years, won't it?" I shrugged.

"Probably."

"Yeah. I guess I'll just have to find someone just as stupid as you, after that."

"I guess so. Good luck. Can't that hard." He laughed.

"I guess not."

Silence.

"She's that important to you?"

"Yes."

"You shouldn't have told him, you know."

"Yes, I should. Now they know what happens if they try anything." I exposed my teeth.

"Good luck, then. I should get going, too." He stood up. "I'll see you around."

"You will." He nodded good bye and disappeared, too. I was left alone at the small table. No point in staying, now. I had to feed, too. If I was going to spend the rest of my life with Kaia, I had to make sure she lived for as long as possible. It was like that old poem…

_I wonder, vampire_

_How long the hunger can be controlled_

_By your fading, tormented soul?_

I had no intention of finding out.

(Bye! now crying for real One final review. Please?

Yours truly,

Mickasala)


	12. AN

Hi again, guys

Hi again, guys! I am really sorry if I've caused any confusion. I edited my story and accidentally put a chapter from Aleandra where the second chapter was supposed to be. I've fixed it, now, but I really am terribly sorry if I've made anyone confused. SO SORRY!

Yours truly,

(an ashamed) Mickasala


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